


A Stolen Ending

by PaperStarrs



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Original Work
Genre: Aurors, Betrayal, Bisexual Male Character, Blood, Bullying, Child Abandonment, Childbirth, Detectives, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Magic, Murder Mystery, Murderers, Mystery, Observant Male Character, Original Character Death(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Character Death, Past Relationship(s), Secret Crush, Secret Relationship, Secrets, Teen Pregnancy, Wool's Orphanage (Harry Potter), bad boy character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:41:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29635494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaperStarrs/pseuds/PaperStarrs
Summary: Some people called Rhee Youngsoo a "wannabe" when it came to his desire to become a private detective in the Muggle world. The bullying and the taunting where Youngsoo's normal life throughout his years at Hogwarts as a reluctant wizard. The moment he finished his last exam, he left Hogwarts without a single word. He vowed to never return to the castle that gave him so much grief, but he can't stay away for that long. Not when a missing student catches his attention. After what happened last time, Youngsoo wants to prove to the people who made fun of him for liking mysteries and not caring for magic that he knows what he is doing. Even with the Ministry breathing down his neck to solve the case. It's a lot of pressure.But what Youngsoo doesn't know is that the case is about to get more complicated than he originally thought. And it will reopen wounds and doors in his head that he had closed for specific reasons. Youngsoo, along with a select few, are about to solve a case that will change each of them. And perhaps the truth is more of a harmful thing than the death itself.Is Youngsoo ready to reopen those doors and return to the wizarding world after a few years? Especially knowing what he already knows.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character





	A Stolen Ending

_"If you want to face the truth, you need to be ready. If you really want to find the truth, then you need to think about whether you are confident that you'll be able to endure the truth."_

**\---**

On September 12th, Fern Reiner mysteriously slipped away without anyone noticing. _Again_. 

On September 13th, Blake Novak went to Professor Minerva McGonagall to inform her that the Head Girl didn’t report to the Prefects meeting that evening before dinner. It wasn’t _uncommon_ for the Head Girl to miss a meeting or two, but no one in the meeting had seen her since after dinner the night before. In the back of the Transfiguration professor’s mind, she jotted down the date and kept track of the number of days of Fern disappeared for. It wasn’t the first time Fern magically disappeared for a few days; the other professors weren’t too worried. Minerva knew better though. 

On September 18th, Minerva knew something wasn’t right when a week went by. Fern Reiner never missed a week of classes before. It was usually and more commonly two days max, and she’d come back as if she never missed those days. The professor looked back at her attendance records and realized that Fern “disappeared” around the same time every year for a few days – around two to three days, never a week. She asked the ghosts to keep an eye out for the seventh-year. 

Minerva informed Professor Albus Dumbledore about the matter of a missing student. He was concerned about her whereabouts as well, but the castle was very large and there were corners of the castle that he didn’t even know about. There could be more secret rooms that he wasn’t aware of as the Headmaster of the school. There was nothing he could do but have the ghosts and Filch search high and low for the missing seventeen-year-old and hope that they’d catch sight of her. 

The Transfiguration professor knew that Albus was doing everything in his power to find the girl, but in the back of her mind, it wasn’t enough. She proposed the idea of contacting a certain graduated student if Fern didn’t turn up in two weeks. Albus, at first, wasn’t too keen on the idea of the return of the Muggleborn, but Minerva told him that the student would be their best bet on finding her. And if they needed the Ministry’s permission, he could be her apprentice for the year, just like his classmate Cho Jiho was for Professor Severus Snape. He agreed to that proposal – telling her that she wasn’t allowed to inform him on the matter until the two weeks were up and if Fern did turn up, just to keep the proposed idea between the two of them. 

On September 22nd, Minerva heard the whispers of the students in Gryffindor house when she posted a notice onto the bulletin board about Quidditch. Someone said they saw Fern walking around the castle when everyone else was sleeping. They weren’t sure if it was _actually_ her or if they just saw someone who _looked like her_ wandering the castle. The professor informed the Prefects that evening who’d be on the late evening route to keep an eye out for Fern, just in case. Luckily, the Prefects on duty were familiar with Fern’s appearance. 

She had the Head Boy keep a look out to see if Fern returned to the shared dorm, he told her that Fern hadn’t. Everything was in its place since he went in there after McGonagall came to him and asked if Fern was in. He was keeping an eye on the room, but Fern hadn’t even returned to change out of her uniform. The professor was confused about what was going on with Fern Reiner, it wasn’t like her. She was a very open student; she came to the professors if she had a problem and most of the students liked her as a person. Fern obviously had enemies, students around her age always had people who didn’t like them. 

The Prefects reported back to the professor, saying they hadn’t seen a hair of Fern. Bianca Dashwood mentioned she thought the rumor of the sighting of Fern was fake because if Fern wanted to be found, she would have just come out of hiding by now. Minerva took that into consideration since Bianca and Fern were once best friends – she didn’t know what happened during their falling out, it happened two years ago, and even now Bianca was bitter and mad about Fern getting the Head Girl position when she wasn’t even a Prefect. Bianca thought she would be the Head Girl and when she found out Fern was indeed Head Girl; McGonagall got an earful before the Sorting Ceremony. The professor didn’t tell Bianca that the Head Boy and Girl last year didn’t recommend her because, and she quoted, “Bianca has a power trip, ma’am.” Bill Weasley’s words, certainly not hers. 

Krystal Griffith had the same thing to say to the female professor once she was finished with her rounds with the seventh-year Hufflepuff Prefect. If Fern wanted to be found, she would have come out of hiding. It wasn’t like Fern didn’t have her secrets; every person had their secrets. Hell, Minerva had her secrets. Just _something_ didn’t sit right with the professor, Fern was a wild card, yes, but she wasn’t someone to make people worried. 

Fern would be missing for two weeks starting tomorrow; the Ministry would have to be notified then. Minerva tried to convince Albus to allow her to contact the Muggleborn _now_ , before the Ministry got involved. The moment the Ministry got involved, it would be harder for Rhee Youngsoo to get involved. She trusted him more than she could the Ministry. She saw how they handled Myrtle Warren’s death; she didn’t want a repeat of that. 

Hogwarts had been death free for forty-six years. Minerva didn’t want to have the castle get closed down or have the Ministry keep a closer eye on the castle. With everything that happened with the Potters and You-Know-Who a few years ago, Minerva was keeping her friends close and her enemies closer, keeping tabs where she could and putting the trust in people she knew personally. 

He still denied Youngsoo’s help, saying it hadn’t been two weeks yet. Minerva wanted to yell at him for delaying his presence, but she stopped herself. It wasn’t a mystery that Albus Dumbledore _did not_ like Rhee Youngsoo. He was the only student that made it _very vocal_ he didn’t like Professor Dumbledore, from the very moment Youngsoo entered Hogwarts, he made his point and told the Headmaster to his face when he was sent to his office one day. It wasn’t like he didn’t know that some of the students didn’t like him or his teachings of the castle, but he hadn’t heard to his face. Albus tried for _three years_ to get Youngsoo to like him as a person, it didn’t work. _Clearly_. It was like pulling teeth, and every time Youngsoo would say the same thing, “I don’t trust you,” and would leave his office with his head held high. 

After that, Albus just stopped trying. And Youngsoo continued to explain his disliking of the headmaster. So, there was a reason why the headmaster didn’t want Youngsoo around. 

But that didn’t stop Minerva to travel to London to find Youngsoo before Albus said to. She wanted him to be aware of what was going on at the castle, then if Fern did come out of hiding, he was aware of another possibility of her disappearing again. She told the headmaster that she had some business to do in London – either he didn’t suspect a thing or he knew that Minerva wasn’t going to back down about talking with Youngsoo. Whatever his reasoning was, the professor left with three days to spare on the two weeks. 

Filius Flitwick gave her the address of Youngsoo’s rented out space. Minerva wasn’t aware that the professor was in contact with the former Ravenclaw after these past few years. She walked down the street, looking for the rental space that currently belonged to Youngsoo. It was under his English name, which surprised her. She knew that he hated his English name that his parents gave him when he originally went to Muggle school. 

Upon arriving to the building, Minerva saw the state of the outside. It looked like it someone removed one brick from the wall, it would all come tumbling down. The professor opened the door, knowing he shared the space with two other businesses, she approaching the front desk to ask about _Jude Rhee_ , the receptionist gave her quite the rude response about Youngsoo. Her eyes rolled, “Don’t expect him to give you the time of day, sweetheart,” the older witch’s eyebrow arched. “He barely takes cases as it is, I doubt he’ll take yours.” 

“What office?” Minerva asked kindly. The receptionist muttered under her breath that the witch was wasting her time but pointed to the door at the end of the hall. The professor thanked her, walking off to greet Youngsoo for the first time in three years. As soon as she approached and went to knock on the door, she could hear the muffled voices of two males arguing. One was certainly Youngsoo, she knew his argue tone anywhere. Knocking on the door, she waited while the voices quieted down, as if they were going to be told off. 

When the door opened, Minerva looked at the younger teenager that was standing there. His mouth was open to say something – probably to the landlord about the noise – however, his mouth snapped shut. He gulped. “Good morning...” he sounded sheepish, probably nervous about how long she was standing at the door, hearing their argument about money and taking cases that Youngsoo didn’t want to take. “Um,” the teen rubbed the back of his neck, “we aren’t currently taking any cases.” 

“Oh?” McGonagall was confused about that. “Is that so?” 

“I’m sorry.” The teenager apologized up and down. “My _idiot_ brother got caught by the _cops_ last week and is currently on probation from being a private detective.” The teen’s head snapped to Youngsoo, who was on the other side of the door, listening into the conversation, glaring at him. “I am truly sorry we can’t help.” 

Minerva knew that Youngsoo was a troublemaker, but she didn’t think he’d get caught by the police. Lowering her gaze to the ground, “Well, what if I told you that the case I have wouldn’t cause the police any trouble?” Minerva suggested. 

He gulped again, glancing to Youngsoo. “I-I don’t know, ma’am.” 

“I know you are listening in, Youngsoo,” 

“Youngsoo...” the teen repeated after her. The former Ravenclaw moved around the door, opening it up more to see the Transfiguration professor standing outside the door. “Do you know her?” Youngsoo nodded his head at his little brother. 

“Hello Professor McGonagall, it’s been a few years since I last saw you.” 

“Likewise, Mr. Rhee.” 

The teen’s eyes widened, “ _This_ is Professor McGonagall?” He looked at her up and down as Youngsoo pushed open the door more for the professor to enter. Youngsoo nodded at Seongmin. “It’s very nice to meet you, ma’am.” Seongmin gave a small bow. “I’m Seongmin, I’m also sorry if I was being rude.” 

“It’s quite alright, Seongmin. It’s nice to meet you.” Minerva wasn’t going to mention that she had no idea that Youngsoo had a sibling. 

“What can I do for you, professor?” 

“You can call me Minerva, Youngsoo.” She stood before him. “Did you know Fern Reiner?” 

Youngsoo thought for a moment before nodding his head. “Of course, most of Hogwarts knows who Fern Reiner is. I’m pretty sure we snogged once at one of the parties.” He confessed, shallowing afterward when he looked at McGonagall’s expression. The private detective looked down at the ground. “What about her, Minerva?” 

“She’s currently missing.” Youngsoo looked back up at the professor. “In three days, it will be two weeks since someone last saw her. In three days, Albus will have to contact the Ministry to inform them about her disappearance.” The professor watched his face light up. “You could look _a little less_ excited about her disappearance, Youngsoo.” She pointed out. 

Youngsoo kept the same expression on his face. “You know that I’m not good with a missing person’s case.” 

“I know,” 

“You suspect something else, don’t you?” He placed his hands behind his back. “I’m surprised, Minerva. I thought I made it _very clear_ to the Headmaster that I can’t stand him, why would he _agree_ for me to investigate her disappearance?” Youngsoo didn’t mean to look smug, but Albus Dumbledore and him just didn’t mix well. 

Minerva sighed heavily. “He was opposed to the idea of hiring you, he is either playing it up that he isn’t aware I’m here, or he truly thinks I have business in London. Albus agreed because he knows you are good at what you do.” She explained. 

“Regardless of the insane amount of bullying I got for it?” 

“Youngsoo,” 

“You really expect me to go back to that school after what happened?” Youngsoo asked, crossing his arms against his chest. “While Fern going missing _does_ excite me, it’s something she has done for years. Even I was aware of slipping away from time-to-time, at the start of the year, it was no secret to anyone.” He added. 

“For two weeks?” 

Youngsoo ran his tongue back and forth against his teeth. Maybe it wasn’t like Fern to disappear for _that long_ , perhaps a day or two, here and there but not two weeks. That was far too long to go missing without someone noticing. Youngsoo only noticed because of his ‘friend’ at the time – he'd mention that Fern would disappear from Slytherin house for a few days then return like she didn’t miss a single day. No one could explain it, nor could they find her either. It was weird, even for Youngsoo’s detective brain. But he recalled after that every time she would disappear and return. 

“I am worried something terrible has happened to her.” 

“Minerva,” Youngsoo inhaled. “It’s not that I don’t want to help look for Fern, I would if I could. But you and I both know that Albus Dumbledore won’t allow it, regardless if the two weeks are up. The Ministry will get involved first.” He stated. 

Minerva knew that, hence why she was in London early. “There’s a space for rent in Hogsmeade, Youngsoo. For half the rent of this office.” 

“I can’t.” 

“Youngsoo,” 

“My brother is a Muggle, ma’am.” Minerva glanced over her shoulder to the teenager behind them. He gave a small smile. “And he’s currently going to uni, I can’t just leave him behind right now.” Youngsoo explained. 

Minerva understood now – Seongmin was the one person that Youngsoo did mention on occasion. He never said his name, he just said he was important to him and that he couldn’t wait until every holiday to go home and see him. Even while at Hogwarts, Youngsoo made it clear he didn’t want to do magic, he’d rather be in the Muggle world. He just wanted to protect his little brother. Minerva took a breath, nodding her head. “I understand. I do. I must have been hard to leave your brother for seven years of your life.” Youngsoo nodded his head. “You have no idea, professor.” He remarked. 

“My offer still stands.” 

“ _If_ she doesn’t show up in the next few days, please write me with updates. _Maybe_ I’ll change my mind.” Youngsoo looked over to Seongmin. There was a reason why Youngsoo didn’t want to go back to Hogwarts, and Seongmin in that reason. She nodded her head, telling him she’d write him if anything comes up. 

On September 25th, her classroom was buzzing, some students were singing happy birthday to seventh-year Ravenclaw who was turning nineteen that day. McGonagall noticed that he didn’t look like he was up to celebrating his birthday. She was in the middle of writing a letter to Youngsoo, keeping her word about updates. It was now two weeks since Fern disappeared – Dumbledore had left that morning to inform the Minister about the seventh-year's disappearance. She was left in charge of Hogwarts for the time being, her first hour class had just wrapped up for the morning and she was giving the students free time to do whatever they wanted with the last five minutes of class. She had been going a little easy on the students. 

However, as Minerva was writing her letter to Youngsoo, Filch knocked on her door to inform her she had someone asking for her. _A former student_ \- and right then and there, Youngsoo moved around the Squib, entering the classroom he once knew all too well. She stood from her desk, staring at the former student as he walked toward her. There was a smile on his face. “Mr. Filch, please watch the students for a few minutes.” She ordered him. 

Youngsoo followed after the professor to her office, keeping the door open ajar so she could hear what was happening in her classroom. “Youngsoo, what changed your mind?” 

“ _A feeling_.” 

“A _feeling_?” She repeated. 

Youngsoo shrugged his shoulders, “I can’t quite explain it, Minerva. I had a hard time sleeping last night, Seongmin told me to come here this morning over breakfast. Something just doesn’t _feel_ right.” Youngsoo explained. She slowly moved her head up and down, she had a similar feeling, but she couldn’t tell the former student that. She had to be positive. “No one’s found her yet?” 

McGonagall shook her head. “I do have the ghosts looking for her, but no one has seen her. There have been rumors about seeing her at night, but the Prefects can’t find any evidence of her around the castle.” She stated. 

Youngsoo took that into account. If no one has gotten a clear view of her, something wasn’t right. Even when Fern would disappear from time-to-time, someone _always_ saw her, no matter how hard she tried to hide. Yes, no one knew where Fern hid herself, but people saw her before she appeared back into the daily life of Hogwarts. 

Before Youngsoo could open his mouth, a scream echoed through the castle. Her classroom went silent, before realizing the scream came straight from the Clock Tower. The private detective’s head turned quicker than McGonagall thought. Youngsoo was off like a shot, running from the classroom. “Youngsoo! Wait!” Minerva called after the former student. She rushed from the classroom, her students following after her. Minerva hurried down the hall, seeing students running straight to the Clock Tower to find out what was going on. There were other professors gathering around, ordering the students to move out of the way. Professor McGonagall pushed her way through the large crowd of students. 

At the bottom of the stairs sat Adrienne Locke, the fifth-year was in shock with tears streaming down her cheeks. The Head Boy was off to the side, and several Prefects were trying to keep things under control. A ghost appeared next to the professor, whispering in her ear about what happened. Minerva heard what the ghost had to say before moving quickly up the stairs to the top – luckily, the students couldn’t see _who_ was up there. Youngsoo was kneeling by the body, looking over every inch, not even paying attention to the ghosts or McGonagall. 

She cleared her throat, “Some-someone talk to one of the paintings in Albus’ office, tell-tell him that Miss Reiner’s... _body_ has been discovered. And clear the students from the area – classes will be cancelled for the rest of the day.” She informed the ghosts. They floated away from Fern to inform the Headmaster and have the students go back to their dorms for the day. McGonagall knelt down next to Fern, glancing to Youngsoo. “Was this the feeling you were thinking about?” 

Youngsoo said nothing. He didn’t know what to think – but one thing was for sure, he wanted to find out who killed Fern Reiner. Youngsoo turned his head to look at the Transfiguration professor. “I will solve this case. I give you my word.”

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me when I watched a k-drama called Missing Noir M, the quote is actually from the show. It just stuck with me. I have a thing for murder mysteries, they are my preferred themes in novels and movies. I am so good at figuring out said murder mysteries that I can usually figure them out within the first ten minutes. It pissed my mom off to no end. XD But she was the one who interested me to this genre, she's the one to blame. However, I am extremely observant - I've been told I should become a homicide detective before. 
> 
> Writing is my calling, however. XD 
> 
> So, I am in love with this story. I haven't been this in love with a story in quite a few years. I don't know why I wanted to write a murder mystery in the Harry Potter universe, but I already have thoughts of a sequel... that hasn't happened in YEARS. Anyway, this is just me playing around with characters and a magical setting. It is A LOT of fun to create something like this. I love Youngsoo, Seb, all of the characters.
> 
> I already know who the murderer is. I know their motive, and I am so excited! :D


End file.
